Despite its enormous popularity, Russell’s theory of definite descriptions has received various criticisms. Two of the most important objections against this theory are those arising from the Argument from Incompleteness and the Argument from Donnellan’s Distinction. According to the former although a speaker may say something true by assertively uttering a sentence containing an incomplete description , on the Russellian analysis such a sentence expresses a false proposition; so, Russell’s theory cannot adequately deal with such sentences. According to the latter (...) objection a descriptive sentence is actually ambiguous—it expresses a general proposition when the description contained in it is used attributively, and a singular proposition when the description in question is used referentially; Russell’s theory is inadequate as it fails to capture this ambiguity and offers an analysis according to which a descriptive sentence expresses only a general proposition. These objections are examined in the present dissertation. It is shown here that these objections arise from: (i) ignoring the distinction between the meaning of a sentence and the assertions made by using it, (ii) the failure to distinguish between the semantic meaning of a sentence and the pragmatic meaning with which it is used on a particular occasion. To make the distinction mentioned in (i), a significant part of Scott Soames’ theory concerning meaning and assertions has been adopted in this dissertation; and, to make the distinction mentioned in (ii), a test, namely the cancellability test, and two Distinguishing Criteria, namely DC-1 and DC-2, have been developed here. It has been argued here that if we properly make the relevant distinctions, then we will find that: (a) the phenomenon cited by the Argument from Incompleteness can be well explained keeping the Russellian analysis of descriptive sentences intact, (b) the phenomenon arising from the Argument from Donnellan’s Distinction raises an issue of pragmatics and is irrelevant to Russell’s semantic analysis of descriptive sentences. So, none of the above criticisms poses a genuine threat to Russell’s theory of definite descriptions; his theory actually provides, to a large extent, a correct semantic analysis of descriptive sentences. (shrink)

Hard incompatibilism is a view which asserts that determinism and free will are inconsistent and given the facts of our best sciences determinism is true; and hence, free will does not exist. Not only that, it also claims that if the world were indeterministic and our actions were caused by states or events, still we would lack free will. In this way, it denies the truth of any libertarian account of free will based on event causation. In that sense, this (...) is a hard position. Regarding moral responsibility, this hard incompatibilism claims that human agents are not morally responsible for their actions, unless they are the ultimate originators (agent-causes) of the actions in question. Derk Pereboom has offered an argument in favor of his hard incompatibilism, aka hard determinism, in which he shows four different hypothetical situations (thought experiments, indeed) each of which is aimed to prove that we are not morally responsible for what we do. The argument is, thus, known as four-case argument. In the present paper, Pereboom’s four-case argument is examined and defended. It has been shown here that Pereboom is quite correct, if we consider the true sense of the term ‘moral responsibility.’ This ‘true sense’ of the term “moral responsibility” is considered as the strong sense of moral responsibility in this paper. However, a weak sense of the term “moral responsibility” has also been proposed in this paper. This proposed weak sense of “moral responsibility” can accommodate most of the socially-approved ways of ascriptions of responsibility. And finally, it has been claimed that our general intuition that every event has a cause and we are not the ultimate sources of our actions is true from the strong sense of moral responsibility; and our commonsense intuition that as human beings we are inherently free and responsible for our actions is true from the weak sense of moral responsibility. (shrink)

Defenders of the Kantian maxim, i.e. ‘ought’ implies ‘can’, defend the maxim taking the term “implication” in the sense of ‘entailment’. But if it is granted that “implication” means entailment, then it can be shown that the Kantian maxim that ‘ought’ implies ‘can’ is false. Sinnott-Armstrong attempts to prove the falsity of the maxim by his argument from Self-Imposed Impossibility in which he offers his famous example of Adams. But Sinnott-Armstrong’s example of Adams appears to be not strong enough to (...) prove the falsity of the maxim; it is a subject to be captured by a version of the maxim, namely the Maxim-KT. That is why two new examples of the argument from Self-Imposed Impossibility are presented in this paper which are stronger and are able to prove the falsity of the Kantian maxim. (shrink)

Recovering a marginal body of pluralist political thought from early twentieth-century India, this article explores how the question of popular sovereignty shaped the federalist reconfiguration of the anticolonial democratic project. The turn to federalism was facilitated by the Indian reckoning with Hegel in the late nineteenth century, which led to the diagnosis that the universality ascribed to monist sovereignty relies on a “unilinear” theory of development. Through a sustained engagement with British pluralist and American progressive thought, Indian federalist thinkers eventually (...) developed a many-willed conception of the people. In so doing, they hoped to overcome the denial of Indian peoplehood on the ground of its lack of national unity and historical backwardness. However, the alternative source of sovereignty the federalists pointed to—plural and many-willed—stood in tension with their simultaneous pursuit of a people speaking in one voice. In this way, the constitutive tension of the pluralist conception of sovereignty came strikingly alive in the colonial world. (shrink)

One of the processes that Zaydism, as a sect that has survived to the present day, went through in the Yemen region is the period that began with Mansûr-Billâh Qasim b. Muhammad, who declared his imamate in the 16th century and continued by the descendants of the ruling class until the declaration of the Republic. However, there is not enough information in the literature about this period, which is known as the Kasimi’s era. Mansûr-Billâh Qasim b. Muhammad has many works (...) on akaid, tafsir, method, islamic law, and in addition, there is a small pamphlet (risalah) written by him. This study aims to introduce the translation of the will written by Mansûr-Billâh Qasim b. Muhammad, who is known as the founder of the Kasimi dynasty, for his son Muayyad-Billâh Muhammad b. Kasım into the literature. (shrink)

It is known that the relationship between word and meaning is one of the most controversial topics of ancient Greek philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato and Indian linguists. In fact, this issue has continued to be discussed with its definition and scope, and opinions about it have been expressed until today. When we review the subject in the Arabic language, we see that Arabic is a rich language with its words and meanings. Also, changes and developments in Arabic, which is (...) a deep-rooted language, has undergone in the historical process have brought changes of meaning in its words. Thus, it can be said that the Arabic language, that includes many branches of linguistics such as morphology, syntax and rhetoric, is also interrelated with semantics, what focuses on the relationship between word and meaning. Although semantics has emerged as a new branch of linguistics, many of today's semantic issues have been discussed in many classical sources and different disciplines, especially in the Arab world. In this study, semantics in general and the emergence of Arabic semantics as a science, its scope, description and its relations with other languages have been investigated. In addition, the works of Ahmed Muhtar Omar (1933-2003) who made great effort especially in the field of Arabic language and the modern Arab world, in the domain of Arabic and his contributions to this field, those include the main issue of this study, have been addressed. The general content of his book "Ilmu'd-dalâla", which includes almost all the topics related to semantics, and the important issues and views those it contains are also mentioned. Besides, presenting important issues in the work, especially Ahmed Muhtar Omar's prominent views and explanations are also mentioned. In the study, prominent works about semantics and Arabic semantics, written from the past to the present, were used. In particular, the life and scientific personality of Ahmed Muhtar has been tried to be presented on the basis of a few works written in the contemporary period. (shrink)

This case study discusses ethical obligations regarding the extent and scope of knowledge dissemination and restitution strategies in the context of global health research.

Before 1972 Somalia had no official writing system for its language. In spite of this, those who bred animals (camels, cattle, sheep, and goats) and who, owing to a lack of water in the country were forced to become nomads, had an authentic oral tradition that found its voice in a rich oral literature. This was well and truly oral in that it was composed, memorized, and passed on without having to resort to any type of writing or other means (...) of communication or recording. Many of these genres are typical of any oral tradition: various dance or work songs, fairy stories and other tales, riddles, sayings, proverbs, and so on. (shrink)

One of the old law/fiqh texts is Farāiz which is thought to be written by Zaid ibn Thābit (d. 45/665). In many classic texts it has been refered to this book and it is mentioned that Zaid ibn Thābit's expertising on the ilm al farāiz. But our findings show that many of researchers who study on the history of codificaditon of Islamic law have not seen this book. In this study, because of the importance of the book, we publish Zaid's (...) Farāiz and the comments written in very early period by Abu'z-Zinad (d. 130/748) on it. Thus, Risāla al Farāiz, one of the oldest fiqh texts written in the period of the Sahāba and expounded in the period of the Tābiūn, will be present to the interest of researchers. (shrink)

Business Ethics: A European Review, EarlyView.

The purposefulness of the world of nature and its various existents is one of the basic issues in the domain of philosophical rationalization, and the adoption of any position in this regard plays a significant role in the development of man's world-view and the determination of the direction of his philosophical and scientific life. In this paper, the writer has evaluated the issue from the viewpoint of two philosophical schools of the Islamic world, i.e., Peripatetic philosophy and the Transcendent Philosophy.Peripatetic (...) philosophy, on the basis of its particular principles and bases, views the world of nature, like the world of immaterial things, an image and reflection of the divine religion and the prior system of imprinted forms. It also emphasizes that the effects and motions of material things originate from their nature, and the ends following such acts are necessitated by those fixed and unintelligent natures! However, the Transcendent Philosophy, on the basis of the trans-substantial and innate motion of all the existents of the world of nature, the diffusion of perception, love, and enthusiasm in all its particles, and the essential poverty of what is other than God, such as the world of nature, proves the purposefulness of all the existents of this world.From the two above-mentioned approaches, the one followed by the Transcendent Philosophy, in the light of its cohesive principles and their related proofs, is rational and defensible. However, the approach followed by Peripatetic philosophy, due to its basic problems and defects and lack of necessary proofs, is refuted and unjustified. (shrink)

The Principle of the One is one of the universal and useful principles of Islamic philosophy which plays a basic role in interpreting the problem of the regular appearance of existents from each other, particularly the rise of the first effect. Through analyzing and demonstrating this principle, Islamic philosophers have introduced the creation of the first effect by Almighty Necessary as its main application. They believe that based on this principle, only one effect is emanated directly from the simple Necessary (...) Being.Although the above principle is certain and has no exception in terms of its content and arguments, some deliberation over them and the fundamental principles that Islamic philosophers believe in reveals that their theory concerning the application of this principle to the problem of the first creation does not seem consistent with their theories and principles regarding the continuity of the emanation of Almighty Necessary, the need of effects to causes in their survival, the inclusion of the truth of all effects in the essence of their first cause in a superior and simple way, and the principle of the truth in its simplicity contains all things. (shrink)

The issue of God's Attributes has always been one of the most important topics in theological discussions in the history of Islamic thought. In fact, Muslim theologians and philosophers have dealt with this issue from different angles, including the division of His Attributes into essential and actual ones and exploring whether such attributes are identical with His Essence or are added to it. However, one of the basic questions in this regard is: 'How do we know about these attributes and (...) how do we define them when attributing them to the Truth?'. (shrink)

Muslim philosophers and scholastic theologians have long argued about temporal Being and Eternity of the Universe.Based on Trans-substantial Motion, Mulla Sadra reiterates that "The Universe with everything in it is temporally contingent because everything in it has been non - existent in time."According to Trans-substantial Motion, all beings are essentially changing i.e., universe is a constant contingency and its existence lies in its non-existence in time. Therefore, it did not exist before and later became existent. In the pre-existent world, there (...) has been no time. There is no beginning point for the creation of the universe and there is no need to postulate a beginning point as such. Because the entire universe is constantly contingent and the contingencies never meet in one certain point.Mulla Sadra says the physical universal is equal to its components and since its components are contingent, it too would be contingent. (shrink)

The main questions of this paper concern how the human mind attains the notion of the Necessary Being in Peripatetic Philosophy, and to what extent it can know Him in terms of concept and judgment.A short response of the present paper to the above questions is that our realist intellect, based on its first judgment, qualifies each existing object with a necessary or possible attribute and, in this way, learns the concept of the Necessary Being. Later, based on philosophical arguments, (...) it tries to demonstrate its applications. However, in spite of attaining a conceptual system of God Almighty in the light of rational analysis and a justified and honest belief in His Existence on the basis of philosophical arguments, our intellect is not capable of knowing Him perfectly.Therefore, in this philosophical system the unique source of our knowledge of God is the intellect. Moreover, in spite of enjoying the capacity for entering this domain, this intellect, too, is not capable of perceiving the existence of this Almighty Truth due to its essential limitations and the infinity of the object of recognition. Rather, it merely knows that the concept of the Necessary Being and the other concepts that are based on it have referents the truths of which are unknown to us. (shrink)

Undoubtedly, Islamic philosophy discusses the essential aspects of being within its own historical framework and considers the predicates of its problems as essential accidents of existence. Some of the issues propounded in philosophy are peripheral, and some others are primary and fundamental. One of the primary but influential issues is the univocality of existence. Commitment to either of them might have some constructive or destructive consequences.According to Mulla Sadra, the univocality of existence is a prerequisite for entering the field of (...) metaphysics and theology in conceptual and judgmental terms. Moreover, negating it requires denying the knowledge of Almighty Necessary to the intellect and the existence of that First Cause to the world in absolute terms. Some of the basic arguments on the oneness of Almighty Necessary and the mode of the application of the ontological attributes and concepts abstracted from possible existents on His Existence are also based on the univocality of existence. The present paper deals with the concomitants of the theory of the univocality of existence in the domain of theology in its particular sense. (shrink)

Physicians try hard to alleviate mental and physical ailments of their patients. Thus, they are heavily burdened by observing ethics and staying well-informed while improving health of their patients. A major ethical concern or dilemma in medication is that some physicians know their behavior is unethical, yet act against their moral compass. This study develops models of theory–practice gap, offering optimal solutions for the gap. These solutions would enhance self-motivation or remove external obstacles to stimulate ethical practices in medicine. The (...) Constructivist Grounded Theory Methodology is applied here where the participants and the main researcher mutually interacted with each other. Data collection was performed through qualitative methods including observation and semi-structured interviews with 21 physicians and medical students. Initial and focused coding was done, from which principal concepts were later extracted. MAXQDA software was used for analyzing data. Analysis of twelve major concepts in the study resulted in two factors and solution groups, from which four general notions influencing the ethical theory and practice gap in medicine were extracted: providing effective education to change attitude and behavior; considering motivational and emotional factors; reconstructing regulations and processes to facilitate ethical practice; conducting comprehensive and systematic studies. The existing medical educational system needs to be reconsidered to add to individual internal motivation, including optimizing persuasion strategies, maximizing participation of students, adhering to virtuous ethical theories, and fostering emotions. Additionally, regulations and processes can be reconstructed to remove practical obstacles and promote ethical practice with insignificant damages to individual self-motivation. (shrink)

Muslim scholars and organisations use the Internet through various websites to spread Islam globally. The presence of many websites providing Islamic contents online makes it necessary to examine their Islamic features and the factors that influence Muslims to use Islamic websites. This paper empirically investigates the Islamic features that influence the use of Islamic websites by Muslim users. The identified Islamic factors were grouped under five factors: beliefs, ethics, services, symbols, and values. A survey of 246 Muslim Islamic website users (...) was conducted between November and December 2012 at the International Islamic University Malaysia. The study develops and tests a path measurement model to confirm the psychometric properties of the five identified factors. The study found that Islamic features significantly influence Muslims to use Islamic websites. The measurement model and empirical results provide valuable indicators for the direction of future research and also suggest guidelines for developing Islamic websites that will easily influence many Internet users to visit them in order to learn about Islamic teachings and practices. The findings are also of considerable importance as they contribute to the present body of knowledge on Islamic websites’ evaluation and for practice in designing and developing quality Islamic websites. (shrink)

Investigation findings and information obtained as a consequence of investigations cannot be treated as state secrets or utilized as evidence in court. This principle, which is followed by international aviation law, has generated controversy in Indonesian law enforcement practices, particularly when it comes to criminal and civil procedural laws, which acknowledge that the findings of investigations can serve as a foundation for further inquiries to identify suspects. The study’s findings revealed that, first, the ad hoc team’s philosophical investigation of space (...) accidents within the framework of international law aims to determine the causes of spacecraft accidents to ensure that they don’t happen again in the future within the context of the main legal goal of benefit and justice for more people (the most people with the most happiness possible). While compensation claims are based on liability and without error (strict liability), police investigations as described in Articles 95 through 100 are intended to find criminal acts in space activities. There is no functional relationship between the two processes, so the findings of police or special team investigations cannot be used as the basis for carrying out legal actions. Given the obvious differences between the team’s investigation and the police’s investigation, there must be coordination between the technical team of the ministry and the police regarding the responsibilities and functions of these two institutions, each of which has a unique position and set of legal obligations. With this knowledge, it is believed that there won’t be any criminal prosecutions brought against the crews of spacecraft, similar to those brought against pilots in situations involving aviation accidents. (shrink)

Physicians try hard to alleviate mental and physical ailments of their patients. Thus, they are heavily burdened by observing ethics and staying well-informed while improving health of their patients. A major ethical concern or dilemma in medication is that some physicians know their behavior is unethical, yet act against their moral compass. This study develops models of theory–practice gap, offering optimal solutions for the gap. These solutions would enhance self-motivation or remove external obstacles to stimulate ethical practices in medicine. The (...) Constructivist Grounded Theory Methodology is applied here where the participants and the main researcher mutually interacted with each other. Data collection was performed through qualitative methods including observation and semi-structured interviews with 21 physicians and medical students. Initial and focused coding was done, from which principal concepts were later extracted. MAXQDA software was used for analyzing data. Analysis of twelve major concepts in the study resulted in two factors and solution groups, from which four general notions influencing the ethical theory and practice gap in medicine were extracted: providing effective education to change attitude and behavior; considering motivational and emotional factors; reconstructing regulations and processes to facilitate ethical practice; conducting comprehensive and systematic studies. The existing medical educational system needs to be reconsidered to add to individual internal motivation, including optimizing persuasion strategies, maximizing participation of students, adhering to virtuous ethical theories, and fostering emotions. Additionally, regulations and processes can be reconstructed to remove practical obstacles and promote ethical practice with insignificant damages to individual self-motivation. (shrink)

Este artigo analisa o pensamento estético de Platão e sua relação com a formação do homem, mostrando que sua concepção estética vai muito além da esfera da arte. Trata-se de mostrar que, em Platão, enquanto é amante da beleza, a reflexão estética transita na esfera da moral, da ciência e da metafísica, não sendo, por conseguinte, o atributo estético da beleza campo exclusivo da arte. Ou seja, a beleza permeia toda a filosofia de Platão desde sua metafísica e cosmologia, passando (...) por sua filosofia da natureza, até chegar a todas as atividades humanas, tais como: a ciência, a política, a ética. Então, num primeiro momento, busca-se compreender o lugar tanto da estética quanto da ética na metafísica, mostrando que o belo e o bom não supõem uma igualdade com o bem moral, senão com o bem metafísico, esse entendido como perfeição da natureza. Num segundo momento, em sintonia com o passo anterior, trata-se de pensar a ética de Platão à luz da metafísica da beleza, mostrando que Eros é o mediador entre o plano sensível e o plano inteligível, entre o moral e o imoral e, enquanto tal, é quem faz aspirar e conduzir ao Bem e à Beleza. Num terceiro momento, evidencia-se a tese de que a estética de Platão assume uma postura não apenas metafísica, mas também existencial, reportando, por conseguinte, à relevância da Paidéia grega no sentido de que a beleza forma parte do ideal de formação do homem na Grécia clássica. (shrink)

Este artículo propone valorar la contemplación de la belleza como una guía existencial en la vida del hombre. La belleza como horizonte de sentido aparece de forma muy especial en las obras de arte, pero también nos acompaña en la vida ética así como en nuestra actividad científica, pues la capacidad de contemplar la belleza debe estar en todas nuestras actividades y es muestra de una psique sana. De la misma manera, aborda este artículo aborda el “narcisismo” como una vía (...) no auténtica de acercarse a la belleza, y propone el correcto ejercicio del gusto como una forma para encontrar belleza, aún cuando en ocasiones no sea fácil encontrarla en el mundo. (shrink)

This article shows the precritical principles of beauty in Kant’s thought, in order to understand his main contribution to the theory of beauty. This critical principles are not found in the Observations on the feeling of the beauty and sublime, but in the first and second critique which locate the feeling of pleasure and pain in the sensation faculty, instead of the Judgment, and in the Universal Nature History and the Theory of the Heavens, that considers beauty as the perfection (...) of the object given from a supreme intelligence, instead of an ideal unity brought from the reflexive judgment. (shrink)

On basic principles of the Islamic worldview from the Indonesian viewpoint.

Esta reflexión plantea la necesidad e importancia de investigar de forma más profunda una pedagogía del gusto a través del desarrollo autónomo de la autonomía, con el interés de que, mediante la contemplación de las formas bellas, pueda acercarse el individuo al desarrollo de su persona y a la vivencia de la belleza como un retorno a casa, algo que es posible si el hombre tiene la disposición de ser acogido por la belleza, pues para poder habitar en ella es (...) necesario antes preparar en nosotros el lugar donde habite. Cuando el hombre desarrolla su libertad expresada como autonomía del gusto, puede dar verdadera acogida a la belleza, y ella a cambio, se manifestará como lo más íntimo a su ser y le entregará el mundo que contempla como su morada. Palabras clave: Belleza. Persona. Vida interior. Libertad. Morada. (shrink)

El presente artículo es una reflexión sobre los paisajes naturales y los jardines como paisajes construidos, a fin de hacer comprensible su importancia en las ciudades, así como la necesidad de reincorporarlos a la vida citadina y al diseño urbano. Para ello, me he centrado en las consideraciones filosóficas de Simmel y Watsuji sobre el tema, con el propósito de mostrar que el encuentro poéti- co entre la naturaleza y su contemplador no sólo permite reconoce el carácter particular o Stimmung (...) del paisaje natural con el cual nos vinculamos, sino que, al habitar poéticamente con la naturaleza, se manifiesta nuestro Kimochi, éste revela nuestro vínculo existencial e histórico con el clima y los eventos naturales, nos invita a desarrollar un lazo cultural existencial con los demás y con nosotros mismos. De ahí la necesidad de incorporar la naturaleza en las ciudades y apren- der a habitar poéticamente con ella. (shrink)

Este artículo explica cómo la movilización política aprovecha y transforma el espacio público y hace de él un espacio político con fines determinados. Para esto se explica qué son los espacios públicos dentro de las ciudades, los espacios públicos se conforman por los encuentros que posibilitan la memoria histórica y los usos y costumbres que propician su "apropiación simbólica", la constitución del genius loci. Las movilizaciones políticas se apropian de los espacios públicos, que se transforman momentáneamente en "espacios políticos", cuya (...) fuerza, carácter y carga simbólica se asimilan a proyectos de identidad, capacidad de movilización y acción política. Dos ejemplos de espacios politizados en Ciudad de México son el Ángel de la Independencia y el Estadio Azteca. (shrink)

Along with pursuing a policy of peace, the Republic of Uzbekistan is committed to ensuring the security, peace and stability of its citizens. Under the United Nations Charter, the state exercises an inviolable right to defense, providing the state with military and defense power at a level of mental adequacy. Preparing young people for service in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan is a national task. In order to solve this problem, pre-service basic training, including training in civil (...) defense, is a mandatory subject in the curriculum, and is taught in general education institutions, secondary special and secondary vocational education. This article discusses the organization of pre-service military training. (shrink)